MBB: NESCAC

[nescac1]

As for Amherst, they sure look pretty scary tonight.  Very deep in long, athletic guys who can shoot it. No real drop-off in the second unit.   The frosh seem ready right away.  Playing much more as a team this year it seems.  You don't want to overreact vs a Mascac team, as outside of Salem looks like a very weak league this year, but still, dang .... the potential is clearly there. 

[amh63]

Amherst won at Westfield State tonight 84-48.  To put the blowout in perspective, Bowdoin won on the same floor over Westfield 67-61 on the 18th of this month.  Defense was better and JMac shot better.  Fine outside shooting and Amherst dominated the boards again.  TOs still high, especially in the 2nd half and Foul shooting remains poor.  Riopel dominated the defensive boards.  All three PGs played well...Jr. PG did not start but led in assist with 6.  It was a good learning game against a very quick WSU team that played mostly a full court pressure defense. Announcers impressed with Amherst's man to man switching defense AND ball movement on offense that allowed open shooters make 8-9 threes in the first half. 

[rlk]

Matt Folger from Middlebury, and Hamilton Forsythe of MIT were teammates at Weston High School in CT.
Hamilton is ultra-talented almost mirror image of Matt in body and size at 6'8". Hamilton is a better 3 point shooter and Matt is better mid range shooter. Hamilton & Matt are prone to fouls because they both believe they can block any shot.

Hamilton is more developed at this age due to scrimmaging & practicing against Folger, and his body has matured faster.
Forsythe is a STAR for you MIT fans. Even has a chippy side if you cross him.

Hamilton has certainly gotten off to a great start at MIT.  I'd have to check the box scores, but I don't remember him getting into a lot of foul trouble thus far.  He had an incredible game against Bridgewater State, 29 points on 8-10 from the arc.

[amh63]

The mention of Midd and MIT "star" forwards being teammates at Weston, CT. caught my interest.  Weston CT. broke off from Easton CT. awhile back.  My wife grew up in Easton..a more rural town in spite of it being the former site of GE headquarters. Weston is a more upscale community.  Anyway, Folger of Midd is listed as being from a prep school in Northhampton....yes the one that produced Amherst's Willy Workman .  Where is the HS when Hamilton and Folger were teammates?  Just curious.  Area is producing some fine MBB players like the Racy brothers.

[JEFFFAN]

Not sure if it is the preseason element of this, but the NESCACC MBB site is much friendlier than the MFB site was this past Fall!

[amh63]

An interesting "bunch" of games tonight as the CAC teams play out of conference schools.  Best game, IMO, is the MIT vs Tufts match in Medford.  For me, the ECSU vs Conn game.  ECSU has a young team and should get better as the season continues.  Amherst plays them soon in LeFrak...the Warriors always provide a challenge. 
I will be looking in on a number of the games.....my first look at some of the CAC teams.
Around 7PM, I will switch over to the WBB game tonight to check on how the Amherst ladies are progressing.
JEFFFAN....I could say it is nicer on this board because of the posters.  True for the most part.  In BB there is many more games and there is a period of development for a Team which out of conference games are used for such development, IMO.  The end goals are to win a Nescac title via the Tourny, get into the post- season, and win a National Title.  Yes, to win the Little Three and Beat Williams!

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Not sure if it is the preseason element of this, but the NESCACC MBB site is much friendlier than the MFB site was this past Fall!

It is always much more friendly here than in football... and football this fall sunk to a new low, sadly.

[polbear73]

Not sure if it is the preseason element of this, but the NESCACC MBB site is much friendlier than the MFB site was this past Fall!

It is always much more friendly here than in football... and football this fall sunk to a new low, sadly.

Agreed.  Hope it never happens on this board. 

[nescac1]

A mixed slate of games tonight -- a bunch will be snooze fests (Williams, Midd, Trinity, Colby and Bowdoin are all likely to cruise in big mismatches -- a chance for younger players to get some floor time), Hamilton vs. Western Conn could be interesting, but then there are three really interesting games:

Nichols at Wesleyan -- Nichols' is very small and very quick on the perimter, with two regionally (maybe nationally) elite scorers in the backcourt.  Wesleyan, meanwhile, is just massive (especially with 6'6 Austin Hutcherson joining the lineup).  Will Wesleyan's big size advantage in the backcourt succeed in shutting those guys down, or will they prove to be too quick? 

Tufts' brutally difficult early-season stretch continues in hosting MIT.  Unfortunately, that stretch coincides with a spate of injuries for Tufts.  If the Jumbos don't have Dayton or Garrett back yet, could be tough sledding vs. an MIT team that has looked very good so far.  But then again, if Savage and Pace go off, Tufts can still beat anyone.  Can Savage keep his insane early-season pace going?

Eastern Conn at Conn College -- if Conn can win this one, that would be a big win for them and for NESCAC, with a bottom-3 (very likely) NESCAC team beating what looks to be the top team in the LEC.  Probably a long shot, but the Camels do have two wins under their belt already ...

[Cards Fan]

I'm excited to watch Wesleyan tonight! It should be a great matchup, against a solid team who made it far last year. If Wes can win this, my confidence in their abilities will shoot up, despite the losses of Green and gardiner.

[JustAFan]

The key to Tufts game against MIT tonight is how well the Jumbos handle MIT's height advantage and whether Tufts can force the game to be played at its pace. The Jumbos succeeded on pushing the pace very well this past weekend, even in their 98-94 loss to Wash U. 

I was impressed with 3 of Amherst's freshman in their opening weekend games. You can tell that Johnny McCarthy's younger brother Tim grew up playing with and against his older brother's friends.  He's got an offensive game that's more mature than you see in most freshmen, and he plays like he believes he belongs to be on the court. Fru Che (all name team, for sure) also plays with poise and does a lot of the little things right--not flashy, but few mistakes, and many good decisions. Finally, point guard Grant Robinson has raw talent, plays with a lot of self-confidence and doesn't get down on himself when he makes mistakes, which were frequent this past weekend, as expected. On the other hand, I often saw glimpses of Tufts' Tarik Smith in his game, and if he progresses the way Tarik did over his Tufts career he'll be a good one. Also good to see sophs Eric Sellew and Tommy Mobley take the next step and begin to assert themselves for Amherst. Both are very talented.

Finally, a shout out to Williams' Chris Galvin and Marcus Soto for their stabilizing play this past weekend. Neither is flashy, but Williams is a much better defensive team when they are on the court.

[polbear73]

It was a circus in Brunswick as Bowdoin, withstanding 72 three point attempts by the University of New England scored 120 points to win by 27. Even more amazing was that Jack Simonds only had 6 points as Bowdoin was led by rookie 6'7" forward Sam Grad with 24. UNE employs a hockey line system of substitution and pressed the whole game, allowing the Polar Bears many 2 on 1 opportunities after breaking the press. It was playground basketball and not sure what the takeaways are, other than Bowdoin may be more athletic than originally thought. Big game on Sunday with Babson coming to Morrell Gym.

[Old Guy]

On to Endicott for the Panthers . . .

who might have been guilty of looking ahead to Sunday (or Thanksgiving at home or with friends). Coach Brown was not able to empty his bench as Johnson State hung around till the end of the 84-77 Middlebury win. The margin was 10-12-15 most of the game but Midd could never put them away.

Poor shooting night for the Panthers — 4-20 from three; 30-78 overall (38.5 fg%). Folger had 21 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks, 4 assists. Daly played 38 minutes and just missed another triple-double with 24 points, 16 rebounds, 8 assists. Most unusual about his game was the ten foul shots he missed (7-17), and he's a good foul shooter (72% last year). He was fouled again and again in the last five minutes as Johnson mounted a comeback: as the point guard, he has the ball in his hands most of the time on offense and we generally like for him to get to the line. No doubt, last night's free throw shooting woes are an aberration.

Daly is an unusual player: playing the point on offense but not on defense, as he picks up the other team's best player in Midd's man-to-man scheme. That often puts him close to the hoop for defensive rebounds — and he's 6'3", fundamentally sound (boxes out) and athletic. That's how he can average 12.3 rebounds a game and 8.7 assists in his first three games (albeit not against NESCAC quality opposition). Endicott will be a test.

Giving thanks this week for hoop and warm gyms which redeem the long winters.

[ContinentalDomer]

During Hamilton's win against Western CT yesterday in Danbury, Tyler Rowe was outstanding.  He scored 38 points, including 6 threes.  He was most dangerous using dribble moves into jumpers (1 on 1 and over ball screens) and step backs.  On offense, the kid was just really smooth; his accuracy and form from the mid-range and arc were impressive.  To say that Conn College will miss him is a massive understatement. 

Fortunately, after withstanding some shooting woes during the first 15 minutes, Hamilton began to push the pace and find its range, which led to some strong scoring runs that WCS could not counter.  Hamilton continues to show a lot of balance and depth on the state sheet.  One new face for the Continentals - frosh Tyler Washington - had more success with Rowe than anyone, including some strong on ball D during the last 10 minutes when Rowe began to tire.

[Cards Fan]

Wesleyan's defense is what will put them in a position to succeed in the coming games. They have the height to do it - only Antone Walker is below 6'4. They kept Nichols' change of pace offense in check throughout the entire game. Offense isn't looking great from outside, but O'Brien can drive to the hole and put it in seemingly whenever he wants. Future is looking bright for the cardinals.